Dr. Kukuruzinska's research focuses on the regulation of protein N- glycosylation. Her work has identified the first gene, ALG7, in the dolichol pathway of protein N-glycosylation as one of the determinants of the N-glycosylation characteristics of proteins and cells. Recently, she has shown that ALG7 is an early growth-response gene and that it is progressively downregulated with the normal development of the submandibular gland (SMG). The proposed research plan is to study ALG7 expression in differentiating acinar and ductal cells during the hamster SMG development, with the emphasis on the ALG7 transcript diversity and the activity of the protein product, GPT.